Set in Tokyo in the 1950s, this novel tells the story of Toru and Naoko. Toru is a quiet and abnormally serious young college student who loves Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman. Their relationship and passion are put to the test by the memory of their best friend, who died years ago. While Toru is satisfied at college, adapting to the life as well as the loneliness and isolation he faces there, Naoko begins to feel the unbearable pressures and responsibilities of life eat away at her. She draws back into her own world, and Toru begins to have feelings for another fiercely independent and sexually liberated woman. This is the story of their love, and their losses together, and Toru’s coming-of-age when he discovers his first true heroic love.

About Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese novelist, best known for writing 1Q84, A Wild Sheep Chase, and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

Murakami-san often favours naming his books after songs, and this book was named after the Beatles’ song. The book was adapted into a major motion picture in Japan by Tran Anh Hung in 2010, starring Kenichi Matsuyama, Rinko Kikuchi and Kiko Mizuhara, with music scored by Jonny Greenwood.